The Bishop Baraga Shrine above L’Anse is a four-ton brass bishop holding a pair of snowshoes 26 feet long. Sources print its height two ways. The historical marker puts the shrine at about 60 feet overall, and Lake Superior Magazine squares that with a 35-foot figure standing 25 feet in the air on laminated beams. The Smithsonian art inventory cited on the marker page gives about 35 feet. This piece uses the marker’s 60 feet for the whole structure and 35 feet for the figure alone.
Two Lake Linden sculptors, Jack Anderson and Arthur Chaput Jr., built it, and it has stood on the bluff since 1972. The idea came from County Clerk Bernard Lambert, according to the Copper Country tourism site, and Anderson was chosen for the job in 1968. The road to the parking lot carries Lambert’s name.
How the Bishop Baraga Shrine is put together
The figure is brass, made with copper from the White Pine mine, per the marker page. It stands on a stainless steel cloud. The cloud rides on five laminated wood arches that rise from five concrete tepees, one for each of Baraga’s five missions, by the marker’s account.
In one hand he holds a cross seven feet high. In the other, the snowshoes, 26 feet long each. The marker says Baraga himself snowshoed about 700 miles each winter between Native American villages, and that his Ojibwa dictionary and grammar are still in use. He was the first bishop of the Diocese of Marquette, 1853 to 1868.
The fire, the dedication, and who keeps it standing
It nearly did not go up at all. A flash fire swept through the inside of the monument while it was being erected in 1972, Copper Country reports, and scorched the lacquer on the outside. Lake Superior Magazine reports the statue was repaired and officially dedicated on September 16, 1973. So 1972 and 1973 are both in print, and the marker’s “since 1972” is the date we use.
Upkeep belongs to the Bishop Baraga Foundation, established in 1969 and, in Lake Superior Magazine’s words, “funded solely through donations.” Roadside America says the foundation asks for donations to cover repair work the weather makes necessary. The gift shop on site is privately owned and separate.
That is a different outfit from the Bishop Baraga Association at 615 S. Fourth Street in Marquette. The Association was founded in 1930 and calls itself the official organization of Baraga’s cause for canonization. Its timeline puts his declaration as Venerable in 2012; the National Catholic Register reports Pope Benedict XVI made it that May. The Vatican is still reviewing, the marker notes.
If you go
The shrine is at 17570 US-41, L’Anse, on the bluff over Keweenaw Bay. Turn south onto Lambert Road from US-41 and follow it to the parking lot. Copper Country says people may visit the shrine at any time; the gift shop is open Thursday through Monday, 11 to 5, and Roadside America says to call before counting on it. No admission fee is posted anywhere we checked, and the foundation asks for a donation toward repairs.
A 35-foot bishop on a 60-foot structure, one fire, two dates, and a pair of 26-foot snowshoes. Go stand under him once.
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Sources, credits, and reporting details
Sources & accountability
How this story was reported
Editorial methodArchival synthesis
Last verifiedOct. 19, 2026
Corrections statusNo material correction note is recorded on this article.
AI assistanceResearched and drafted with AI tools. Reviewed and approved by editor Keegan O’Brien.
Verification note: Written October 19, 2026 for the 2026-10-22 edition; sources read and checked Oct. 19, 2026. AI-assisted drafting, staff desk piece.
Primary sources
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The Snowshoe Priest (marker 255501) — The Historical Marker Database (HMdb)
Accessed Oct. 19, 2026.
Fetched Oct 19, 2026: "60-foot-high shrine to Bishop Baraga, the work of Lake Linden sculptors Jack Anderson and Arthur Chaput, Jr. … has stood on this bluff since 1972."
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The Snowshoe Priest (marker 255501) — HMdb
Accessed Oct. 19, 2026.
Supports: four-ton brass figure, copper from White Pine mine; stainless steel cloud
Fetched Oct 19, 2026: "four-ton brass figure of Bishop Baraga is made with copper from the White Pine mine … standing on a stainless steel cloud formation."
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The Snowshoe Priest (marker 255501) — HMdb
Accessed Oct. 19, 2026.
Supports: five arches represent his five missions; snowshoes 26 feet, cross 7 feet
Fetched Oct 19, 2026: "The five arches and five tepees represent Bishop Baraga's five missions among the American Indians. … The snowshoes are 26 feet long, and the cross is 7 feet high."
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The Snowshoe Priest (marker 255501) — HMdb
Accessed Oct. 19, 2026.
Supports: about 700 miles each winter between Native American villages (marker inscription)
Fetched Oct 19, 2026: "imagine snowshoeing 700 arduous miles each winter through the frozen wilderness between Native American villages"
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The Snowshoe Priest (marker 255501) — HMdb
Accessed Oct. 19, 2026.
Fetched Oct 19, 2026: "Baraga was the first bishop of the Diocese of Marquette (1853-1868) … The Vatican Congregation of Causes for Sainthood is reviewing documentation of his saintly acts."
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The Snowshoe Priest (marker 255501) — HMdb
Accessed Oct. 19, 2026.
Supports: Smithsonian inventory gives about 35 feet and 1974 (the conflict); Lambert Road south of US-41
Fetched Oct 19, 2026: "reports that this 1974 sculpture stands approximately 35 feet tall and weighs 4 tons. … It is on Lambert Road south of U.S. 41."
Additional reporting
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The Creation of Bishop Baraga (Bishop Baraga Shrine) — Copper Country (Keweenaw tourism)
Accessed Oct. 19, 2026.
Supports: idea from County Clerk Bernard Lambert; Anderson chosen 1968; Foundation established 1969
Fetched Oct 19, 2026: "The statue of Bishop Baraga holding the Cross was an idea of County Clerk Bernard Lambert. … was the sculptor chosen in 1968 … The Bishop Baraga Foundation, established in 1969"
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The Creation of Bishop Baraga (Bishop Baraga Shrine) — Copper Country
Accessed Oct. 19, 2026.
Fetched Oct 19, 2026: "laminated parabolic wood beams, which rise from five concrete tepees … A flash fire swept through the interior of the 35-foot tall monument as it was being erected … people may visit the Shrine at any time, the gift shop is open Thursday through Monday from 11 am to 5 pm."
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Snowshoe Saint: The Long Trek to Sainthood for Father Frederic Baraga — Lake Superior Magazine (Lesley DuTemple)
Published Jul. 30, 2018. Accessed Oct. 19, 2026.
Fetched Oct 19, 2026: "a 35-foot statue of Bishop Baraga standing 25 feet in the air atop laminated beams … the statue was officially dedicated on September 16, 1973. … The nonprofit Bishop Baraga Foundation, funded solely through donations"
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Bishop Baraga – Shrine of the Snowshoe Priest — Roadside America (secondary)
Accessed Oct. 19, 2026.
Fetched Oct 19, 2026: "the foundation set up to maintain the shrine asks for donations to do repair work necessary because of the elements … is privately owned and separate from the Bishop Baraga Foundation … 17570 US-41, L'Anse, MI … Gift Shop Th-M 11-5 (Call to verify)"
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Bishop Baraga Shrine, L'Anse, Michigan — Atlas Obscura (secondary)
Accessed Oct. 19, 2026.
Supports: conflict only: statue 35 feet; address 17570 US-41, L'Anse 49946
Fetched Oct 19, 2026: "a statue 35 feet tall on 5 beams … 17570 US-41 … L'Anse, Michigan, 49946"
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Baraga's Cause for Canonization — Bishop Baraga Association
Accessed Oct. 19, 2026.
Supports: Association founded 1930; official organization of the cause; declared Venerable 2012
Fetched Oct 19, 2026: "Founding of the Bishop Baraga Association to promote the cause for the beatification and canonization of Bishop Frederic Baraga. … the official organization of Bishop Baraga's Cause for Canonization … 2012 Bishop Baraga is declared Venerable."
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Bishop Baraga Association (home) — Bishop Baraga Association
Accessed Oct. 19, 2026.
Supports: Association address 615 S. Fourth Street, Marquette
Fetched Oct 19, 2026: "615 S. Fourth Street, Marquette, MI 49855"
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Travel Through Michigan's Upper Peninsula in the Footsteps of the 'Snowshoe Priest' — National Catholic Register (Tim Drake)
Published Oct. 26, 2025. Accessed Oct. 19, 2026.
Fetched Oct 19, 2026: "declared "Venerable" by Pope Benedict XVI in May 2012 … Bishop Baraga holds a 7-foot-high cross in one hand and 26-foot-high snowshoes in the other."
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Baraga County — Upper Peninsula Travel & Recreation Association
Accessed Oct. 19, 2026.
Supports: Keweenaw Bay setting; no hours or fee posted
Fetched Oct 19, 2026: "the likeness of Bishop Baraga stands watch sixty feet above the Keweenaw Bay … All are welcome at the Shrine of Bishop Baraga."
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Tourist information — L'Anse Township
Accessed Oct. 19, 2026.
Supports: just outside L'Anse on US-41; no hours or fee posted
Fetched Oct 19, 2026: "Located just outside of L'Anse on US-41 is the Bishop Baraga Shrine"
Photo and media credits
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The Bishop Baraga Shrine above Keweenaw Bay at L Anse, Michigan — Wikimedia Commons / Mandic2406
Featured image record. Accessed Oct. 19, 2026. CC0 http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en.
Supports: Featured image: The Bishop Baraga Shrine above Keweenaw Bay at L Anse, Michigan
Media ID 4406; resized to 2000px; credit in caption and alt
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The Bishop Baraga Shrine in L Anse: the brass figure on its steel cloud and five arches — Wikimedia Commons / Richie Diesterheft
Accessed Oct. 19, 2026. CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0.
Media ID 4407; resized to 2000px; credit in caption and alt
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Keweenaw Bay from the waterfront park in L Anse, Michigan — Wikimedia Commons / Royalbroil
Accessed Oct. 19, 2026. CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0.
Supports: Body image 3: Keweenaw Bay from the waterfront park in L Anse, Michigan
Media ID 4408; resized to 2000px; credit in caption and alt
